As you begin to tackle your high-asset divorce, you’ll turn most of your attention to taking steps that allow you to secure as much property as possible. While compromise and negotiation are a must, the right strategy puts you in position for success.
Just as you have many assets to divide, you may also have questions about what happens to your credit-card debt. Sweeping this under the rug could cause you additional trouble down the road.
Here are several tips to keep in mind should you be going through divorce with credit-card debt:
- Leave with no joint debt: Your goal is to leave your marriage in the past without any joint credit-card debt. This may sound impossible, especially if you have a lot of debt, but there are many ways to do so.
- Know what you’re responsible for: Just because your spouse has credit-card debt doesn’t necessarily mean you’re responsible for it, too. For example, if this person opened an account in his or her own name for personal purchases, it’s not debt you should have to take on.
- Cancel joint credit cards: If there is no balance, this is a relatively simple process. If there is a balance, you’ll need to divide it equally onto separate cards so you can move on.
Don’t spend so much time focused on the assets in your divorce that you overlook your debt, such as that associated with credit cards.
There is a lot to take on during the divorce process, with property and debt division matters at the top of the list. Never lose sight of what you can do to protect your legal rights.
